Australia/New Zealand cruises

[MarciAnn]

This will be our first SS cruise, having sailed Seabourn almost exclusively.  We would like to do an Australia/New Zealand 14-16 day itinerary in 2024 but there seems to be different itineraries for this route with different numbers of sea days.  Not knowing much about this area of the world, can anyone suggest which itinerary is preferable to the others?  Some of the cruises are on the Muse (a smaller ship) and some on the Whisper.  Any insights you could provide would be most appreciated.  Thx. 

[Gourmet Gal]

Whisper is even smaller than Muse and is one of the oldest ships in the fleet.  Having been on it in rough seas I would try to avoid.  

[Stumblefoot]

The Whisper is smaller than the Muse and having been on it in rough seas, I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again.  With that said, if the itineraries are equal, then I'd select the Muse merely because of the extra dining venues.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I went through your exact search, and decided that itinerary beats ship (for us) and that the Whisper 16-day itinerary from Auckland to Sydney on Jan. 29, 2024 (voyage no. WH240129016) is the best they have offered in the several years I have been checking.  Thorough coverage of New Zealand, plus an overnight in Tasmania, and Phillip Island, Geelong, Eden and Sydney.  We're flying in early to NZ for Queenstown, to see the interior, and stopping off at Christchurch airport for 4.5 hours to see the International Antarctic Centre on our way back to Auckland.  Also staying in Sydney post-cruise.

 

We had booked D2D with Business upgrade, but after reading the thread here about Silversea Air problems we have rebooked as P2P and arranged all our own airfare: Qantas from JFK to AKL – why doesn't Air New Zealand offer this route? – and from SYD to LAX, with American back to JFK on points; and Air New Zealand for the internal flights.  Couldn't beat Qantas' business fares – and the points will go to our AA accounts.

 

[Thankfully we are pretty stable sailors, so we will hope to survive the Tasman Sea as we have the rough waters on a few other cruises.]

[Aussieflyer]

We are booked on Muse this December from Auckland to Sydney. One of the deciding factors for us was that this itinerary did not go to Burnie in Tasmania. It's a nice little town but we have been there several times. This cruise also picks up some of the NZ ports we haven't visited before. Sadly Oban is not being visited - last time we really enjoyed the walks there. This year we are going to Bluff instead. Have sailed the sounds before though last time on Muse (2019) weather was too rough and we missed them altogether. 

In terms of size, we like the Muse with it's variety of places to dine.

[MarciAnn]

Thank you all for your thoughts.,  Jazzbeau, very helpful!  Thanks for doing the research.  Wonder why some of the top cruise lines use their oldest ships for Australia/New Zealand?

[Stickman1990]

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

and arranged all our own airfare: Qantas from JFK to AKL – why doesn't Air New Zealand offer this route? – and from SYD to LAX, with American back to JFK on points; and Air New Zealand for the internal flights.  Couldn't beat Qantas' business fares – and the points will go to our AA accounts.

Air NZ does offer JFK to AKL direct - just not everyday (nor does Qantas offer it daily) - and they’re not Oneworld members (they’re Star Alliance) so points couldn’t be earned on AA

 

https://www.airnewzealand.com.au/flights/en-au/flights-to-new-york#:~:text=Air New Zealand can get,Mondays%2C Thursdays%2C and Saturdays.

 

The Antarctic Centre is definitely worth a visit and is located within the airport surrounds 

Edited April 27, 2023 by Stickman1990

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

Air NZ does offer JFK to AKL direct - just not everyday (nor does Qantas offer it daily) - and they’re not Oneworld members (they’re Star Alliance) so points couldn’t be earned on AA

Thanks, I forgot that they have that route – but IIRC they don't have a good way to get home from Sydney, and their prices were much higher than Qantas [because of Q's 'Business Sale': JFK-AKL & SYD-LAX non-stops cost only $9,994.35].

 

Star Alliance would be ok, because we have FF points at American, Delta and United, but we have very few United points so the other two are better for us.

[Stickman1990]

28 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

they don't have a good way to get home from Sydney, and their prices were much higher than Qantas [because of Q's 'Business Sale': JFK-AKL & SYD-LAX non-stops cost only $9,994.35].

Sale fares are always good if they suit 

 

Plenty of flights from Sydney to Auckland to connect to the AKL to JFK direct flight (assuming it’s the right day)

 

Most Australians want to avoid LAX due to the pathetic immigration “process” and delays - so if NYC is the preferred destination the direct flight is much better - maybe they treat their own citizens better than those from other countries 

 

The other downside of the Air NZ option is the weird seating arrangement in Business class - feet to the aisle - not my preference 

[Aussieflyer]

On 4/28/2023 at 6:54 AM, MarciAnn said:

Thank you all for your thoughts.,  Jazzbeau, very helpful!  Thanks for doing the research.  Wonder why some of the top cruise lines use their oldest ships for Australia/New Zealand?

Australians ask this of ourselves frequently. I guess because we are willing to book the older ships (as that is all that is offered), cruise lines keep dumping them down here. Actually not all cruise lines. P&O Australia take many of the old ones and rebadge them, so the old Sky, Sea, Dawn, Golden Princess sail under the P&O flag (note this is a totally different company to the UK P&O and would be considered 3 star possibly).

 

Some of the other lines are now sending newer (eg Virgin, Viking) ships here but as our mainstream cruising season is limited (October - March/April mostly), there are few options for us for all year sailing in the area. Carnival AU has a couple of ships here all year and also as noted above the P&O AU ones. Princess has Majestic which is not too old but also at times Grand, Sapphire and Diamond who are getting on a bit. Coral P is quite popular even though not new but is being deployed for world cruising at the moment.

 

Silver Muse comes to do a summer season but it is generally one itinerary repeated  several times so not much choice. Given the itinerary is really only NZ, for Australians the D2D option is grossly overpriced, even with included Business air. We are on Muse again in December, and we are calling to a few ports we haven't done before. But very disappointed Oban is not included this time.

 

Silversea also does the Kimberly expeditions though I think the ship is Explorer which from memory is the old PA2 (which we went to the Arctic on in 2010).

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by Aussieflyer

[Daveywavey70]

37 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

Australians ask this of ourselves frequently. I guess because we are willing to book the older ships (as that is all that is offered), cruise lines keep dumping them down here. Actually not all cruise lines. P&O Australia take many of the old ones and rebadge them, so the old Sky, Sea, Dawn, Golden Princess sail under the P&O flag (note this is a totally different company to the UK P&O and would be considered 3 star possibly).

 

Some of the other lines are now sending newer (eg Virgin, Viking) ships here but as our mainstream cruising season is limited (October - March/April mostly), there are few options for us for all year sailing in the area. Carnival AU has a couple of ships here all year and also as noted above the P&O AU ones. Princess has Majestic which is not too old but also at times Grand, Sapphire and Diamond who are getting on a bit. Coral P is quite popular even though not new but is being deployed for world cruising at the moment.

 

Silver Muse comes to do a summer season but it is generally one itinerary repeated  several times so not much choice. Given the itinerary is really only NZ, for Australians the D2D option is grossly overpriced, even with included Business air. We are on Muse again in December, and we are calling to a few ports we haven't done before. But very disappointed Oban is not included this time.

 

Silversea also does the Kimberly expeditions though I think the ship is Explorer which from memory is the old PA2 (which we went to the Arctic on in 2010).

 

Well I for one can’t wait to visit your amazing country and venture down to NZ on the Celebrity Edge next January. My first time down under and my first time on a mainstream line. 

[Aussieflyer]

38 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Well I for one can’t wait to visit your amazing country and venture down to NZ on the Celebrity Edge next January. My first time down under and my first time on a mainstream line. 

We quite like Celebrity and have sailed on the line quite a bit. Edge is one of the newer ships in the line though haven't been on her. Our first cruise to NZ was on Celebrity Solstice.

 

I hope you enjoy your trip.It can be quite cool in NZ especially. Last time we were there (late Dec) it was puffer jackets and thermals from about Christchurch south but then by the time we got to Burnie in Tas, it was back to T shirts. And it was too rough to get into the sounds so we missed them on that trip. 

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

Silversea also does the Kimberly expeditions though I think the ship is Explorer which from memory is the old PA2 (which we went to the Arctic on in 2010).

Cloud will replace Explorer next year.

[windsor08]

Queen Elizabeth, Azamara Journey, Oceania Regatta, SS Whisper, and Coral Princess will all be sailing across the south of Australia via Fremantle before Christmas if you are looking for alternatives to NZ.. We too did NZ ages ago on Solstice, Milford Sound was wonderful, as was the whole cruise, but there is too much of the world I haven't seen to do it again.

[Mr Luxury]

5 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Well I for one can’t wait to visit your amazing country and venture down to NZ on the Celebrity Edge next January. My first time down under and my first time on a mainstream line. 

Yes,you'll be living on the Edge.😁

[Stickman1990]

5 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Well I for one can’t wait to visit your amazing country and venture down to NZ on the Celebrity Edge next January. My first time down under and my first time on a mainstream line. 

You should do it on Crystal Symphony - the Avenue awaits 

 

https://www.crystalcruises.com/search?itineraries[refinementList][departure][0]=202312&itineraries[refinementList][departure][1]=202401&itineraries[refinementList][ship][0]=CSY&itineraries[sortBy]=sort_departure_asc

[Daveywavey70]

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Yes,you'll be living on the Edge.😁

Nothing new there then.

 

3 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

You should do it on Crystal Symphony - the Avenue awaits 

 

https://www.crystalcruises.com/search?itineraries[refinementList][departure][0]=202312&itineraries[refinementList][departure][1]=202401&itineraries[refinementList][ship][0]=CSY&itineraries[sortBy]=sort_departure_asc

I Had looked at that one but it didn’t leave me enough time to explore Australia. Someone will just have to keep that piano warm for me a little longer.